1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to a dog harness which is connectible to a leash held by an individual walking the dog, and more particularly to a leash-controllable dog harness adapted to inhibit the dog from straining against the leash and inducing the dog to come to a halt or to walk at a pace acceptable to the leash holder.
2. Status of Prior Art
A leash is a chain or strap attached to the collar or harness of a dog, the leash being used to lead the dog or to hold it in check. As pointed out in the Bloom U.S. Pat. No. 2,233,397, when a dog strains against a leash attached to a dog harness, it is important that the harness then avoid a choking effect on the throat of the dog or undue pressure on throat muscles, cords and nerves, for these may have adverse effects on the lungs and heart of the dog. While Bloom discloses a non-choking harness, this harness does not act to discourage the dog from straining against the leash. Indeed, because the harness is non-choking, there is nothing to inhibit such straining and to hold the dog in check.
The need exists, therefore, for a harness to break older dogs of the habit of straining at the leash and for training younger dogs not to strain at the leash. When a dog strains at the leash, it may, in doing so, wrest the leash from the hands of its master who then loses control of the dog. But this is perhaps a less objectionable aspect of straining, for in the case of a master of advanced years or in relatively weakened condition, should the master hold tightly onto the strained leash to maintain control of the dog, the master may then be pitched to the ground or otherwise upset, with possibly damaging consequences.
To prevent straining at the leash, hobble-type dog harnesses are known, such as the hobble harness disclosed in the Patience et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,670,712, which normally permits free movement of the animal but which restricts the action of the forelegs when the dog attempts to run away or otherwise go out of control.
The Patience et al. harness includes a conventional dog collar and a shoulder strap that has hoops at its opposite ends that loosely fit over the forelegs of the dog. The shoulder strap is adjustable so that the foreleg hoops can be drawn up but not so tightly as to interfere with normal movement of the dog's forelegs. However, if the dog strains on the leash, this strain is also exerted on the shoulder strap, and the foreleg hoops are then drawn upwardly so that movement of the forelegs is restrained and the dog will be brought to a halt.
A harness of the Patience et al. type imposes a physical restraint on the forelegs, and its effectiveness depends on the strength of the dog. Thus with a small dog, this harness may be fully effective, while with a large and more powerful dog, the harness may fail to restrain the dog, particularly if he succeeds in wresting the leash from the hands of his master.
My prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,369 (Sporn), discloses a dog harness acting to inhibit the dog from straining against the leash without, however, producing a choking action. The harness comprises a collar encircling the neck of the dog, and left and right restraint cables whose leading ends are connected to the front section of the collar at left and right positions thereon. The restraint cables go loosely under the left and right foreleg pits of the dog and through respective slip rings attached to the rear section of the collar, the trailing ends of the cables terminating in a coupler to which the leash is attached. When the harnessed dog strains at the leash, this acts to tighten the restraint cables which then impose a pressure on the foreleg pits. Because these pits are highly sensitive, the dog, in order to relieve this pressure, will then cease to strain against the leash and thereby again loosen the restraint cable.
While a harness of the type disclosed in my prior '369 patent is effective for its intended purpose, it requires a collar whose size is appropriate to the neck size of the dog on which it is installed. Also, this harness entails slip rings on the collar through which the restraint cables pass, the cables terminating in a common coupler to which the leash is attached. Since the cables are more or less tightened when the dog strains against the leash, the cables are in time abraded by the rings through which they pass.
My above-identified copending patent application discloses a leash-controllable dog harness adapted to inhibit a dog from straining against the leash held by an individual walking the dog, the harness inducing the dog to come to a halt or to walk at a pace acceptable to the leash holder. The harness is composed of a pair of loops and a shoulder junction having left and right openings, each loop being formed by a strap of adjustable length whose leading end is linked to the junction and whose trailing end slides through a respective opening and is coupled to the leash whereby when the leash is strained, both straps are then pulled. The loops are angled with respect to each other to interconnect at a crossover site.
When the harness is installed on a dog, the shoulder junction then overlies the dog's shoulder intermediate the right and left forelegs, and the crossover site lies adjacent the dog's chest, one strap running from the site through the right foreleg crotch, the other strap running from the site through the left foreleg crotch. Should the harnessed dog strain against the leash, this causes both straps to ride up the respective crotches to impose pressure on the highly-sensitive foreleg pits, whereby the dog, in order to relieve the resultant discomfort, then relaxes the strain.
The harness disclosed in my copending application has a distinct advantage over that disclosed in my prior patent, for it does not entail a collar. But in both instances, control of the dog is effected by applying pressure to the highly-sensitive foreleg pits which induces the dog to relax the strain on the leash.
In the harness disclosed in my copending application, the straps extending from the crossover site adjacent the dog's chest run through the right and left foreleg crotches and then pass through an opening in the shoulder junction so that the trailing ends of the straps extend beyond the shoulder junction to be coupled to the leash. Because when the leash is decoupled from the trailing ends of the straps, these ends are then free to slip through the opening in the shoulder junction and thereby decouple the harness from the dog. To avoid this, the trailing ends are held together by a Velcro fastener. And the shoulder junction is provided with a traverse bar that divides the opening whereby when the leash is decoupled, the held-together trailing ends of the straps are intercepted by the bar to prevent these ends from slipping through the opening. This harness arrangement, though workable, is relatively complex and costly.